VANCOUVER — The general manager likes his coach. The coach likes Vancouver. So why has Canuck general manager Mike Gillis been unable so far to finalize an extension for coach Alain Vigneault?

“Alain and I have been meeting the last couple of days,” Gillis said Thursday during his weekly radio appearance on AM 1040. “We have a lot of things to discuss over the last couple of years about where we're headed and how we work together and how we view the world of hockey.

“It's a process you have to go through. That isn't something that happens in a moment; it takes a little bit of time. Everyone's very emotional when the season ends. Everyone is kind of not in a position to really make great judgments about a lot of things that are important things. I firmly believe you just take your time and look at it clearly and thoughtfully and you'll get to the right conclusion.”

Gillis should have had Vigneault at “hello,” but the coach and GM will continue to chip away at an extension to mirror the one Gillis secured from owner Francesco Aquilini last week.

Vigneault, who has guided the Canucks to consecutive Presidents' Trophies and is the winningest coach in franchise history, could make a fortune as a free agent. Among Canadian teams alone, the Montreal Canadiens, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers are looking for coaches and Vigneault, a coach-of-the-year finalist three times in nine National Hockey League seasons, has proved himself to be one of the best.

But, fair or not, Vigneault really doesn't have much leverage in negotiations with the Canucks. His current deal, extended three years ago by Gillis, runs through next season. He can't just quit and seek a better offer elsewhere.

Of course, the GM and coach could agree to part. But given Gillis' ideals about protecting assets and the chance for the Canucks to challenge for a Stanley Cup next season, it seems extremely unlikely the GM would let his coach walk.

It's a marriage the coach and GM are stuck with for now, for richer or poorer.

LUONGO ON MARKET? Gillis, who said he spoke Thursday with Roberto Luongo, talked around broadcaster Barry Macdonald's question when asked if the goalie will be traded to clear the crease next season and beyond for backup Cory Schneider.

“I'm going to take my time and think about everything that has happened,” Gillis said. “I really haven't had an opportunity to do that much in the last couple of weeks but I'm going to now, and we're going to start making some decisions in formalizing and solidifying our plans. I'll speak to [Roberto] again when we get to that point. We'll just see how things go and progress in the next few weeks up to the draft.”

Luongo, who lost his starting job in the playoffs, said when the Canucks' season ended that he wouldn't block a move. Gillis has denied reports that the goalie has submitted a list of teams for which he'd waive his no-trade clause.

WHOA CANADA: For all the embarrassment, outrage or self-flagellation caused by Team Canada's upset loss very early Thursday against Slovakia, the world championships could have gone over a lot worse in this country. No more than a handful of people in Newfoundland must have witnessed live on television the entire quarter-final game from Helsinki.

The International Ice Hockey Federation's decision to schedule the first playoff games in the early afternoon in Scandinavia meant anyone in British Columbia interested in Team Canada had to get up in the middle of night to see the game against Slovakia. No wonder the NHL, whose clubs still supply nearly all the top players to the worlds, gets exasperated with the IIHF and will have to be forced in upcoming contract negotiations to participate in the 2014 Olympic tournament in Russia.

As for the horror of waking up on the West Coast to news that Canada had lost 4-3, our national angst reflects a smugness about ourselves and our game that was once the chief undoing of Canadian players who figured they merely needed to show up overseas to win. Only Canadian fans still think that way.

The IIHF managed to pool all four semi-finalists from the 2010 Olympic tournament into the same preliminary group in Helsinki, and Canada opened the world championships two weeks ago by edging Slovakia 3-2 – the same result from the Olympic Final Four in Vancouver.

Slovakia lost its next preliminary-round game 1-0 to Finland, then reeled off five straight wins. Thursday's victory extended the winning streak to six. In hockey, as with most sports internationally, the Age of Imperialism ended a long time ago. Still, it makes Canada's fifth-place finish no less disappointing.

THE SHOOTING BOOTH: When I was about 10, I shot a dragon fly with a BB gun and have regretted it ever since. I don't even kill house spiders if I can humanely relocate them outdoors. Karma. So, I'm in no position to judge Canuck David Booth for baiting a black bear and killing it with a crossbow on a single shot that was as good as anything he unleashed in the NHL this season.

Legal arguments trump ethical ones and Booth broke no laws in Alberta. He had the right to do the same as innumerable others who hunt trophies. Apparently, his bear is one of about 3,000 that will be legally killed this year in Alberta.

What Booth was guilty of was a profound lapse in judgment in bragging about his kill through social media and supplying links to graphic photos and video of he and his prize, alive then dead.

Most of the people who follow him on Twitter do so because he plays for the Canucks. And out here on the left coast, we tend to like animals. A sled-dog cull in Whistler drew more public outrage and a quicker response from authorities than most crimes against people.

In Vancouver, we hunt mostly for parking spots and cheaper gas.

Booth was either breathtakingly naïve or just plain stupid to think his gloating and bravado about luring and killing a bear wouldn't have a significant backlash in the market where people pay his salary as a hockey player.

ALL TORTED UP: After his New York Rangers came up three shot blocks short and lost 3-2 to the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday, seething coach John Tortorella uttered a total of 39 words in response to six questions over 72 seconds – an average of 6.5 words per answer.

Every profession has miserable, rude people. What's mystifying is how Tortorella gets away with his boorishness in a league that sells entertainment and relies on its connection to fans for survival. Maybe someone should ask why he has such contempt for them. Tortorella's answer would probably be two words.

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